Our work
Our work and impact
What we are doing now, and the work that earned the trust of the Department of Health, NHS England and front-line GPs.
- Registered charity no. 1124019
- Programmes evaluated by Deloitte
- Thanked by the Secretary of State for Health
- Partners: NHS, NAPC and Health Education England
Current work
Current projects
Three programmes with one aim: fewer people facing later life alone.
With Home to Home Calls and Age UK
Volunteer befriending for people in care homes
Befriending is usually thought of as something for older people living at home. We take it into care homes too, where loneliness can be just as sharp.
Each person is matched with the same volunteer, who calls or visits at an agreed time. Visits are built around what the person enjoys, not a checklist.
Where someone wants to get out more, our volunteers help them take the first steps back into community life, on their own or with support.
What it means: Regular company for residents who had gone weeks without a visitor, and a gateway to other local help.
With UK Men's Sheds Association
Men in Sheds, Stafford
Our shed runs at the weekend from the nursery site, in partnership with the UK Men's Sheds Association. Members take on projects for the nursery and the wider community, and take real pride in making a difference.
The shed is open to anyone, of any age or background. Some come for the woodwork, some for the company. Most stay for both.
What it means: A reason to leave the house, new skills, and friendships that carry on outside the shed.
Current
Win Your PIP
The PIP form is long and the wording is hard to get right. Win Your PIP's experienced health writers turn what you tell us about your condition into clear, honest answers you can copy onto your form, with a guide to what happens next.
It is priced to be affordable, and the income helps keep our free befriending and community work going. We always signpost people to Citizens Advice too, for free face-to-face help.
What it means: Claimants who can explain their daily reality in the language the assessment uses.
Your determination to improve the lives of people with dementia has driven a step change in responding to dementia and provides a solid platform on which together we can build for the future.
Track record
Work that changed how older people are supported
Each programme was delivered with partners, independently evaluated and built on by others. Here is what we did, who we did it with, and what it achieved.
5 national programmes
Delivered with the NHS, government and leading charities
Independently evaluated
Information Prescriptions rated very highly by Deloitte
Recognised nationally
Thanked by the Secretary of State for Health in 2015
Past project
Information Prescriptions for GPs
Delivered with
- Guideposts Trust
We developed, delivered and evaluated health, social care and wellbeing Information Prescriptions for GPs. The programme was rated very highly in an independent evaluation by Deloitte.
An Information Prescription gives a GP a way to offer someone living with a long-term condition, and their family, a clear route to the support they need. Not a pile of leaflets, but a real map of who can help with each problem, often close to home.
The programme began with dementia and diabetes and was designed so it could be applied to any condition.
Outcome
Rated very highly in evaluation by Deloitte.
Past project
Primary Care Navigator training
Delivered with
- National Association of Primary Care
- Health Education England
- Department of Health
We co-developed and delivered Primary Care Navigator training for non-clinical GP surgery and pharmacy staff in London and across the country.
Primary Care Navigators are receptionists, pharmacy assistants and other front-line staff trained to guide people to the widest range of local and national help: to prevent illness, to avoid crisis when someone is unwell, and to improve wellbeing.
Health Education England partnered the work on Alzheimer's and dementia, co-funded by a grant to AgeTrust from the Department of Health. Diabetes followed, and the NAPC has since extended the programme to other long-term conditions.
Outcome
Front-line NHS staff trained to connect people with help beyond the clinic.
Past project
Department of Health post-diagnostic support
Delivered with
- Department of Health
AgeTrust sat on the Department of Health's Post-Diagnostic Support Group, shaping how people are supported after a dementia diagnosis.
At the end of 2015 the Secretary of State for Health wrote to thank us for our "leadership, support and commitment", saying our determination to improve the lives of people with dementia had "driven a step change in responding to dementia" and provided "a solid platform on which together we can build for the future".
Outcome
Thanked by the Secretary of State for Health.
Past project
Dementia Action Alliance
Delivered with
- Dementia Action Alliance
We led and co-funded the Dementia Action Alliance's action group on post-diagnostic support, and delivered two commissioned reports for the DAA and the Department of Health.
The Dementia Action Alliance brings together the Department of Health, NHS England, local authorities, leading charities and businesses. As leaders of its post-diagnostic action group, we set out how best to help people and their carers after a diagnosis, and reported on where things stood.
Outcome
Two commissioned reports on post-diagnostic support.
Our beginnings
Early research funding
Delivered with
- University of Glasgow
- Cochrane Collaboration
- Peninsula Medical School
AgeTrust began by giving small but timely grants to research into the underlying causes of age-related conditions and their treatment.
Contributions to the University of Glasgow and Cochrane Collaboration, and to Peninsula Medical School, were credited with important steps forward. That work built our understanding that many long-term conditions are preventable, and that person-centred support can prevent crises and improve wellbeing.
Commissioners and partners
Need a responsive partner for older people's health and wellbeing?
We co-design, deliver and evaluate programmes with the NHS, local authorities, charities and funders.
Co-design
Programmes shaped with front-line staff and the people who use them.
Deliver
Small, fast and hands-on, from local pilot to national roll-out.
Evaluate
Independent evaluation built in from the start, as with Deloitte.
Donate
Fund a visit, a phone call or a shed place for someone who lives alone.
Registered charity no. 1124019. Gift Aid adds 25p to every £1 at no cost to you.
